The Butterfly Effect
by Ari Winters
Summary: Small differences can lead to massive changes. When Cassius Warrington had entered his name into the goblet, he hadn't expected too much. Honour for himself was the only goal. He definitely didn't expect that he would ever be one of history's biggest figures.
1. Home Sweet Hogwarts

There was something gloomy about England, Cassius noted as he looked around the station. It wasn't just the end of the holidays, in fact it was probably more of a relief for him to return to Hogwarts.

Families all around him were hugging one another and crying as they said goodbye. His own parents stood along side him, standing stoically as they seemed to evaluate him and his sister.

"Take care of Octavia," his father said shortly, a command at it's finest. Keeping his face neutral, Cassius nodded at his father before giving his mother a quick hug. His sister hugged her afterwards as he grabbed their trunks beginning to carry them to the train. Octavia had followed behind him quietly, the same blank mask on her face as they calmly boarded the train.

It was easy for them to navigate amongst the other students. Cassius, at 17, had reached a height of almost 2 meters, and with the amount of muscle he'd developed from Quidditch practice he had a rather intimidating appearance. Handsome, yet very intimidating.

Sitting in his usual compartment, he gave a small smile aimed at his sister the moment the door was closed. Slowly other Slytherins would start to join and fill in, and then Octavia would leave him to join with the Slytherins in her own year. But for the next few minutes it would just be him and his sister.

"Ready for school?" he asked, a sarcastic edge to his voice as he smiled. Octavia rolled her eyes at the boy, a small smile showing on her face.

"You know exactly what's going through my head," the younger Slytherin replied. She was right of course, both of the Warrington's were more than happy to be getting away from home, but at the same time the only place they truly felt comfort would be in the Slytherin common room. Far away from the rest of the school.

They'd been dealing with crap from all the other houses since they had been sorted, it was something that was normal by now. Something that they claimed didn't bother them. Something that all Slytherins claimed didn't bother them.

But if the truth was told, occasionally it did.

Not that any of the rest of the school would ever care. They hadn't for the past millennia and it was certain that they wouldn't anytime in the duration that Octavia and her brother would be at school. It did however unite all of those in the green house.

'United we stand, divided we fall,' was a line that Octavia had kept in her mind as long as she could remember. It was part of the speech that a prefect had given in their first year, and the notion was repeated by Snape, their head of house. From that moment it was an unspoken rule that you didn't defy another Slytherin. It meant going along with the crowd in public, raising questions only in the private comfort of those you could trust. And even amongst the Slytherins it was rare for someone to actually trust another.

Her dark brown eyes lifted to the door as it was pulled open. Marcus Flint stood there, his large teeth prominent. Octavia figured that if he fixed his teeth he'd at least be able to attract people with his wealth. His stupidity on the other hand was something that was a lot more difficult to fix, as was demonstrated given he should've graduated last year.

"Cassius," Marcus greeted, before his grey eyes crossed over to Octavia. "Ava," he added in acknowledgement to the girl who sat across from her brother.

"Nice to see you again Marcus, but I should go to find my own year," Octavia greeted politely, a fake smile on her face as she brushed passed. The brunette would've considered remaining in the compartment if it was anyone other than the Slytherin Quidditch Captain, but he had always creeped her out.

Slipping out of the compartment she began the search for her friends.

It didn't take long for Octavia to find Draco, his bragging was loud, obnoxious and incredibly easy to track. She vaguely noticed the 'Golden Trio' of Gryffindor as she walked by their compartment, but she pretended she hadn't in an effort to avoid a confrontation. For Octavia, it would be successful if they managed to avoid any troubles before arriving at Hogwarts this year. Especially after the incident with the Dementors last year.

Draco Malfoy stood there, taller than he had been last year. It seemed that he had continued on with not slicking his hair back, something that was definitely an improvement. His grey eyes had found Octavia quickly, and she knew that he was glad to see that she was in fact there. The two had grown up together, along with Theodore. As such the trio had always been very close, and those two were probably the only people that Octavia actually considered to be friends. Perhaps also Daphne Greengrass, who was surprisingly nice the majority of the time. In return, she knew that Theodore and Draco both considered her as an equal, and she figured that made them view her as a friend too.

Despite all that, the friendship was not that obvious at Hogwarts. Theodore Nott had always been self-assured and nonchalant about situations, it meant that he had never truly felt pressure to join any particular faction within the Slytherin house. His blood status and reputation, along with intelligence, also led all not to doubt him and to accept him.

Octavia similarly was quite confident in herself, often found with Daphne Greengrass and the other girls. Though, she was similar to Theodore in the tendency to float from group to group, occasionally spending time with either of the boys she had befriended in her childhood.

Draco. He was an entirely different case to either of his friends. He had the same confidence of the other two, though it manifested in arrogance. Added to his enjoyment of his reputation, it led to a tendency to brag when in public or in a group. The white haired boy was the one who knew that people would flock to him, and didn't have it the other way. On rare occasions when there weren't too many people that would notice he sought out either one of his two real friends.

"Father says Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts. Durmstrang students actually learn them, not just the defence rubbish we do," she heard him say, and raised her eyebrow at him.

"That defence rubbish is a lot more useful than the Dark Arts, it means that you can actually do something in case anyone would attack you, learning Dark Arts is only useful once one has knowledge about defence," Octavia commented bluntly, a sly smile on her face. It was bait, an obvious challenge to enter into a discussion with her.

Draco knew that all too well.

"Nicely played," Zabini commented, a flirtatious smile on his face. He had a tendency to constantly flirt, something that had developed during their last year. It had developed around the same time that he had worked out that his appearance wasn't unattractive.

Octavia nodded in acknowledgement towards him.

Currently it was still only the three of them, though it was undoubtable that Pansy would be attracted the moment that she showed up. She had a habit of clinging to Draco, perhaps hopeful that one day he would actually care for her. There was a misguided hope that one day he might care for her and marry her.

It was a shame that her great grandmother was a half blood. It meant her blood was too tainted for Malfoy to ever enter into a serious relationship with her.

Blaise motioned for her to enter the compartment, acting like a gentleman for once. Octavia was all too aware that it was part of his technique for flirting. It was something that would definitely work on some of the other girls, but not on her.

"Thank you Blaise," she murmured as she passed him, sitting herself at the window. Blaise and Draco had followed in behind her, sitting themselves down and preparing for the long trip back to Hogwarts.

* * *

One thing that Cassius had to say was he was glad that he wasn't a first year this year. He was also very glad that it wasn't his sister's first year, given the stormy weather. He'd only been out of the drain for about a minute and he was certain that if it weren't for the spells he'd cast on his own clothing, as well as that of his sister's, he would be completely soaked through already.

The hood of his cloak was however pulled over his head, and his sister had done the same. The warming spells and water repellant spells keeping them fairly comfortable, though they continued to walk with their heads down amongst their friends.

"I hope one of the mudbloods falls in, it'll be one less to deal with," Cassius heard Marcus comment, causing an amused smirk to appear on Cassius' face.

"Maybe that giant oaf will fall in this year, I've always wondered how those bloody small things ever managed to hold him," Cassius retorted, gaining a chuckle from his friends. Marcus, Adrian, Terrence and Cassius had all clambered into the carriage that would take them to Hogwarts. All of them were quite relieved to be inside the carriage, pulling the hoods off their heads. All of them were still dry, but the feast would be interesting. No doubt most of the students from other houses would all be sopping.

And the mudblood first years? There was definitely no chance that they were going to be warm until late this evening.

The conversation between them stayed quite light and trivial, even as they wandered into the halls of Hogwarts. One thing that would never get old would be the way in which younger students scampered away as they walked.

It was partially their status as 7th years and predominantly the fact that they were Slytherins. It was probably the only advantage of the reputation that they had as being part of Slytherin.

Suddenly shrieks were echoing around the corridor, people pushing and shoving one another. Glancing at his friends, Cassius tried to figure out what was going one before he saw the poltergeist

"Peeves!" he heard McGonagall's familiar voice bark. The entire situation was almost amusing, from their location they could only see Peeves, but they knew that ghost was mocking the old witch. The angry shouts of threats gave that much away, although considering he was already dead, Cassius wondered if there was a true way in which one could actually threaten a ghost.

With a loud cackle, the poltergeist has suddenly zoomed off.

He glanced at his friends once again, shrugging. It made him glad that he ended up on one of the later carriages to arrive at Hogwarts, and seeing his sister only a few meters away he knew that the same thing was probably going through her mind, and that of her friends.

It was too cold on this stormy night to be sopping wet, and it looked as though those that had been hit by the water balloons were already soaked.

Slowly the group began shifting forwards again, finally ending up in the great hall and seated at their respective tables. One of the first things the older slytherin noticed as his brown eyes wandered around the hall, was that there seemed to be a lack of teachers seated up on the staff table.

"I think people might've finally gotten the idea that it's a cursed position," a voice said nearby, and his eyes immediately turned to meet Cassandra Travers, one of the few few descendants from the Sacred Twenty-Eight that was still a pureblood today. It was a shame there weren't more, or at least more than weren't blood traitors.

"As long as people get Hogwarts on their references, I don't think they'll learn," Cassius answered, an amused smirk playing on his face. The giggle that he got in response made him feel a bit more smug. It felt nice to have that kind of effect on girls.

"I suppose it would be a great thing to add on to a resume," the blonde mused, twirling her hair around her finger.

"I wouldn't have thought you'd be interested in teaching," Cassius responded, head cocked slightly to the side as he waited for the girl to respond. She shrugged her shoulders lightly, a smile on her face as she answered.

"It's something that I think would be interesting, but not something I'd think about going into," both purebloods were very much aware that she wouldn't have a career of her own. Instead, within a year or two of graduating she would marry. Definitely a pureblood, preferably one with money, and chances were that it would be her family that would arrange the marriage. It would no doubt involve a dowry, and very little influence on her behalf.

The only way that Cassandra would have a voice in a husband would be if she found herself a boyfriend worthy of her parent's standards and ideas, then they'd consider her own decision for her partner.

Thankfully at that moment the entire conversation was interrupted by the entrance of the first years with McGonagall. As expected, all of them were completely soaked. Everyone's attention immediately turned to the old and tattered sorting hat, waiting for the song that it had created over the last year to perform today.

The hat definitely didn't disappoint. Within minutes everyone in the hall was clapping at the performance, including all of the Slytherin table.

Unfortunately that was followed by the sorting ceremony.

It was something that happened every year, and something that was boring for every year that it occurred. There were occasional exceptions to the boring nature. For example, with his own sister Cassius had been excited. He knew that she, like him, would be a slytherin. And Malfoy and Nott, there was no way that they wouldn't be in Slytherin. They were all situations in which it was exciting. Even Potter's sorting had been exciting, though none of the Slytherin's that had watched the sorting would admit to that.

This year though, there were a few first years that would undoubtedly be Slytherin. And as expected, they were greeted with cheers from the Slytherin table. More usefully they were also greeted with a drying charm cast by some of the older students before they sat down. Cassius felt obliged to help them with the drying charm, and also greet them properly, due to the shiny prefect badge on his chest. It seemed much longer than it really was until Dumbledore had gotten to his feet, though when he did he smiled, holding his arms out in a welcoming gesture.

"I have only two words to say to you, tuck in," he announced, and with that food appeared. The older Warrington was surprised at how little he had to say, and how normal the announcement was. But he still chose not to question it, instead choosing to immediately dig in.

In some ways he was glad to be back at Hogwarts.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Soooo I might be guilty of starting another project, but I saw something on tumblr and after scrolling through fan sites and not finding a story like it… I kind of decided to write it myself… I can't promise that there will be all too regular updates in the next few weeks because trial exams start next week and then I'm preparing for my finals.**

 **But I still hope that you enjoy it, and hope that I'll be able to update semi-regularly.**


	2. The Arrival of Guests

It hadn't taken long for all the food to be eaten. Many were laughing and talking as they shoved the food in their mouths, which was quickly followed by desserts. Desserts were usually the favourite, and as had been his tradition, Cassius had ensured that he could have a bit of each kind of dessert from the welcoming feast. There always tended to be something new during the welcoming feast.

Afterwards, Dumbledore had once again stood up, leaving a few Slytherin's to roll their eyes at the inevitable speech that awaited them.

It didn't disappoint, with a variety of new banned objects (half of which Cassius had never even really been aware of, let alone something along the lines of what he thought someone might bring to school) and also the areas that were out of bounds. Then there were some words that almost caused the seventh year to fall out of his seat in shock.

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"No Quidditch?" was echoed throughout the hall in a number of variations, and Cassius was also awaiting an answer. He had originally been hoping to be Quidditch Captain this year, until it came out that Marcus Flint had to repeat, and given that he was applying to different teams around Europe he couldn't afford Quidditch not taking place this year!

At the moment that Dumbledore seemed to be explaining exactly why this was occurring, he'd been interrupted by the loud roar of thunder and the appearance of a bizarre man. Unlike many others, both Warrington's immediately recognised the man in question. They had seen him a number of times, and heard of him even more often. The rest of the students all seemed to be in shock as they stared at the man, who exchanged words with Dumbledore before he sat down at the staff table.

"As I was saying, we are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year," Dumbledore finished his announcement. All of the students still sat in shock, whether it was at the new turn of events or still due to the entrance of the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.

"You're joking," a loud voice commented, resulting in laughter ringing throughout the hall. Cassius glanced at the cause of the entire thing, no one else than one of the Weasley twins. No one else would've had the audacity to act like that.

But it had worked a charm in breaking the tension that had built up between all of the happenings that had gone on. Most Slytherins were even laughing, including Octavia he noticed.

Cassius only snickered when Dumbledore was reminded of what he was doing when McGonagall cleared her voice. It was surprising that she wasn't the headmistress, given that she was the one that seemed to truly do all the organising.

As Dumbledore finally got back on track with explaining the competition to the students, the entire hall was once again increasing in tension. It was perhaps not that surprising, all students envisioning themselves as the champion for Hogwarts. The person that would bring glory to their own name, as well as glory to their school.

In that moment Cassius had already decided that he was going to enter.

* * *

The first month of school had gone by fairly calmly. Cassius found that he himself hadn't been on the receiving end of anything dreadful, and so far nothing eventful had happened.

The other Warrington whole heartedly disagreed with her brother. It was October 30, and she'd already seen all unforgivable curses, been put under the imperious curse, watched her best friend get turned into a ferret as punishment and on countless occasions didn't do anything as she watched said friend seemingly attempt to get into fights with Potter and his friends.

When the bell rang, signifying the end of class half an hour early, the Slytherin's had all rushed to the common room. There was an excited, even nervous, tension that was there. Many students were rushing to check that they're cloaks looked pristine, before double checking that their hair looked reasonable.

While all students had the desire to make a good impression for the arrival of the other schools, the necessity seemed greater for the Slytherins. They were already forming ties and alliances that would last outside of Hogwarts, securing their own positions in society after graduation. Relations with pureblooded witches and wizards from other countries was something everyone recognised could be helpful in the future.

They'd been shoved into lives walking down to the front of the castle, though it didn't take long for the lines to get so mixed up they might as well not have been formed in the first place. And then they waited.

Given that it was dusk, there was already a cold bite to the air. Cassius, noticing the shivers of some of the other students, was all too glad about all the enchantments that were on his robes.

"There!" someone yelled out, causing everyone to start looking over in the direction of the forbidden forest.

"It's a dragon!" one of the first years shrieked, a Hufflepuff Cassius noted. He was glad it wasn't one of the Slytherin first years, he would have had to talk to them if that was the case. Either way, he still sent a patronising look at the first year. She was still freaking out too much about the 'dragon' to notice however. A number of his friends did however snicker at the entire situation. Or rather, the stupidity of the situation.

Once it came closer it was much clearer that it was a blue carriage, a carriage of massive size. Cassius was wondering why it would have such a huge size, given an undetectable extension charm could have been applied on the inside. It would've been similar to tents that were often used by wizarding families. Especially for events such as the just bygone Quidditch World Cup.

It was probably the tendency of different groups of witches and wizards to attempt to impress one another, he reasoned as the massive carriage landed with it's horses.

Shortly after, a boy in pale robes had jumped out of the carriage, unfolding a set of beautiful golden steps. Finally a woman stepped out.

"She's as big as Hagrid!" Flint muttered in exclamation as he looked at her.

"Probably a half-breed, like the old oaf," Cassius responded after a moment of thought. He didn't miss the filthy look that a seventh year Gryffindor shot him. The pureblood didn't even acknowledge that he had seen the look that was directed at him.

Finally a group of Beauxbatons students followed out, respectfully standing behind the half-giant. There was no doubt that she was the headmistress of the school, but it was doubtful that the headmistress had considered the colder weather. All of the students seemed to have been shivering slightly, no doubt due to the thin uniforms they wore. What was obvious though, was the uniforms were of exceptional quality.

If he were being honest, Cassius was too busy examining the students that had just arrived to be paying attention to the conversation between the two heads of the schools. What he did notice was when he was pulled by Terrence, parting with the rest of the Hogwarts students as the group from Beauxbatons walked up the stairs and into the warmth of the castle. The girls were beautiful, that was the first thought that went through his mind as he actually managed to see them up close. The next thought was that he was certain that there were a few girls in there that were part-Veela.

Good to look at, but unfortunately they were not potential brides.

Cassandra Travers on the other hand had continued to make subtle signs that she would be very receptive to any advances. Cassius supposed that in time he would be able to learn to love the girl, she came from the same background and had the same values. That was all that was necessary really.

Assuming that his father didn't already have some scheme for a betrothal contract.

It was well known that if either Nott or Malfoy had a daughter they would have had him betrothed to that child from the moment they were born. Given that they hadn't, it was eventual that his sister would marry one of the two heirs. While no contract had as of yet been drawn up, all three of them knew it would happen one day. The three friends had grown up knowing that.

Not much time had passed before an odd rumbling sound seemed to be approaching Hogwarts. It made Cassius uneasy, his eyes instinctively searching for Octavia in order to get her to move just in case something would go wrong. Of course he trusted her own ability, and he also to some extent believed the professors would be able to do something in case there was truly an emergency. Even if past experiences said otherwise.

Such as the various Care of Magical Creatures lessons, the escaped prisoner that ended up on Hogwarts grounds and also a Basilisk that required a 12 year old to figure it out and slay it.

It was surprising that Hogwarts still existed.

"The lake! Look at the lake!" one of the boys in a Gryffindor scarf yelled, causing everyones eyes to move from the direction that the Beauxbatons students came from to the lake. A mast was already starting to surface, and there was no doubts that it was a large boat surfacing in the lake. Cassius was honestly surprised that the giant squid seemed to be keeping its distance. Probably some kind of enchantment to protect the ship from magical creatures.

The surfacing of the ship wasn't what took forever though, instead it was the approach of the students. They definitely weren't rushed in their movements, though they did move with the sense of having a purpose.

Once his eyes locked onto a familiar figure, he had a feeling that this would be a very long year as he processed the celebrity walking towards them.

Victor Krum.

* * *

Dinner had seemed to extend for Cassius. He had watched, with some suspicion as Krum and a number of other Durmstrang students had sat themselves around Malfoy. That meant that they were near his sister, and he was absolutely bristling at that fact. His friends were not helpful. Not at all helpful. It was probably because they didn't have sisters.

Instead they insisted on spouting rubbish jokes and laughing at the inner turmoil that Cassius was going through at the current time. Shooting them all sharp glares, her ran a hand through the messy brown curls on his head.

Warrington was beyond happy the moment that Dumbledore started speaking, which was a first in his entire 6 full years of education at Hogwarts. His brown eyes remained steadily focussed on Dumbledore, a composed look on his face once again as his mind was reeling. He knew what he wanted to do, and he didn't doubt that Dumbledore was going to announce exactly how the champions for the Triwizard Tournament would be chosen shortly.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet. Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete," Dumbledore announced, Cassius was tapping his foot as his thoughts were racing.

A slytherin champion would not be welcomed by the school of Hogwarts, he was all too aware of that fact. The next morning he would get up early, before anyone else could so that he wouldn't get into a confrontation. That's when he'd put his name in the goblet.

Then it would all be up to an enchanted object to choose whether or not he would end up as the Hogwarts champion.

And if he was chosen, all the other houses be damned if they didn't approve.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **So I managed to finish the second chapter, which I'm fairly happy with. Some of the lines are fairly close to those from the books because there's only so much you can do in explaining certain ideas.**

 **sea-kingdom: Thanks love! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope you also enjoyed this one, starting the next chapter it should actually get more interesting though. And I'm also going to try to touch on more of the aspects that come with growing up as a pureblood in this society. But you'll see that later!**


	3. The Goblet of Fire

That night the Halloween Feast had dragged on. Everyone was fidgeting, looking around impatiently. Cassius was thankful that Cassandra was rambling, his brown eyes remaining on her in order to distract him from the thoughts that were running through his head. His other friends were too busy discussing who the likely champion would be, all of them hoping that it would be him.

Cassandra laughed as she recounted a story, which caused Cassius to chuckle as well. Her eyes were a piercing blue, though her happiness had softened the eyes that could with little effort be quite terrifying to look into.

Octavia was about at nervous as her brother, though in her case she wasn't certain how she was meant to feel. Her eyes kept wandering over to the seventh year student, which was the only sign that something was bothering her. On one side, the brunette wanted her brother to be chosen, and yet at the same time she was hoping that he wouldn't be. Especially considering it was a dangerous tournament. Everyone at this table also knew that, despite them wanting him to be the champion, no one else from Hogwarts would support it.

A soft smile spread over her features as she saw her brother laugh at the other girl, another pureblood. Octavia could remember her from a number of events that they'd gone to, though she'd never really spoken to the girl. Her brown eyes scanned over the girl, she was quite pretty, which was something that was preferable if Cassius was considering actually dating the girl. Her skin was pale, though it didn't look unhealthy, and her hair a light blonde colour that fell straight down her back.

"Already evaluating a possible rival, Ava?" she heard Theodore's voice come from across from her, dragging her eyes back to the boy on the other side of the table.

"Evaluating whether she is worthy of the name Warrington," Octavia countered with a look of indifference. She saw the amused twitch of her friends lips, and tilted her head to the side slightly in question. The dark haired boy shook his head in response, the blue eyes that seemed to have flecks of silver dropping down to his food, which he picked at a bit more.

The silence that fell between them wasn't uncomfortable, they knew from the small signs as to what state they were in respectively. Something that came with knowing someone quite well for the entirety of one's lifetime. If Draco was there, there was no doubt that there would be more conversation.

It would probably come from one of the stupid goons that followed him around, or his fangirl, Pansy Parkinson. But now they were sitting with the boys, and girl, that had come from Durmstrang once again. Theodore and Octavia, having arrived late due to not realising the time when they were studying, had decided not to join that group. Both of them had enough of the arrogant boasts coming from the boys of the other school, as well as their own friend.

Finally, after a much too long time had passed, the golden plates from which they were eating disappeared, and the tension grew even thicker in the hall. The noise increased dramatically for about 10 seconds before Dumbledore finally stood up, at which point silence immediately took over the entire hall.

"Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber where they will be receiving their first instructions," Dumbledore explained, though no one responded. There wasn't a single murmur around the entirety of the hall.

Everyone's eyes were focussed on the Goblet of Fire.

Wondering when it would give the names of the champion.

Wondering who the champions would be.

Octavia and Cassius met one another's gazes, and Octavia nodded slightly in acknowledgement of her brother. Her heart was beating faster than it ever had before.

Suddenly a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of the goblet, gasps echoing throughout the hall at the sight of what happened. Octavia's mouth had dried too much to respond in anyway, her hand's subtly gripping onto the bench that she was sitting on.

"The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum," Dumbledore announced, Octavia bit her lip as that was announced. She didn't care for Durmstrang or Beauxbatons, she needed to know who the Hogwarts champion was.

She didn't need to look behind her to know that her brother was also anxiously anticipating the announcement.

"Couldn't of guessed that," she heard Nott mutter sarcastically. The hall had burst into applause, but Octavia was still frozen, watching as her body remained still.

"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!" Cassius' eyes fell onto the Veela that he had seen on the first day. She was still beautiful, and yet there was something about her that made the pureblood think that she wouldn't get far. And that wasn't based on the fact that she was a halfbreed.

What was amusing was the girls sitting on Ravenclaw table that had burst into tears at the announcement.

The next champion would be the Hogwarts champion.

Octavia felt like her heart was about to stop.

"The Hogwarts champion is Cassius Warrington!" silence fell over the hall for the first time that an announcement came. Cassius stood, quite bravely, with his head held eye as his brown eyes met with his sister's. She offered him a small smile as she clapped, along with the rest of the house. But none of the other houses were applauding. The slytherin hadn't expected anything else.

As he began walking the jeers began, some of the houses booing. The other schools looked confused at the turn of events.

"We can't have a slytherin champion!" he heard someone yell, though it was lost in amongst the other jeers from around the school. Cassius kept his head up high. It was something he'd put up with since he was a first year, this was no different. He was a pureblood, of one of the most noble families that still existed. He was worth more than any of them, and as such whatever opinion they held of him, it didn't matter.

The jeers went on even after her brother had left, and Octavia felt bad in response. Instead she settled for harshly glaring at the gryffindor table, most notably the twins who seemed to be the loudest in their attack of her brother. One of the twins met her eye, but unlike usual she didn't back down. She waited, forcing him to eventually look away, asking his brother something.

No doubt who the slytherin that was glaring at them was.

Suddenly, the goblet spat out another parchment, which shut up all those that were jeering.

"Harry Potter," he read out after clearing his throat. Silence once again consumed the hall, every head turning to face the boy who lived.

Eventually the boy was forced to walk up, unable to properly defend himself against the accusation that he had entered himself into the cup. Octavia found herself thankful for that either way, it had taken the heat off of the situation with her brother.

At least one of the champions would be one that Hogwarts would support though, the others should've been partially placated by that.

* * *

Cassius Warrington stood calmly in front of the fire, staring into it blankly. His eye sight watered slightly at the bright lights of the fire, but he didn't bother moving them. Too many thoughts were running through his head, though it seemed that the jeering had stopped.

He hadn't even noticed that anyone else had entered the room, ignoring the Veela as she spoke. It was only Bagman's voice that had brought him out of the trance like state he was in.

"Gentlemen... and lady. May I introduce the fourth Triwizard champion?" Bagman announced, addressing the three champions that had been chosen to start off with. Cassius' brow furrowed in confusion, silently asking for an explanation as to why there was a fourth champion. And how an underage wizard had managed to place his name into the cup as well, especially when no one else succeeded judging by the amount of beards that he had seen over the last few hours. His brown eyes ran over the younger boy, trying to analyse what was going on.

By the way that he stood, the Slytherin had no doubt that Potter had no clue what was going on. He looked confused, unsure and altogether like he didn't want to be there.

Even if no one else would believe that the boy who lived hadn't placed his name in the goblet, Cassius Warrington knew that that was the case.

Potter looked at him, noticing the way that the older Hogwarts student was looking at him. Finally, after a few moments of hesitation, Cassius nodded in acknowledgement. It was a gesture returned by the younger boy.

"'E is too young," Fleur continued to argue, and everyone in the room seemed to agree with the statement.

"If he managed to get his name in the goblet, he should be prepared for what could happen," Cassius intervened as Ludo Bagman attempted to stumble out an explanation. "Dumbledore announced the rules, he's a part of the tournament now, whether it was something he expected or did not expect."

"He is right… Harry is obliged to compete, he will just have to do the best he can," Bagman managed to say before a large number of professors entered the room, including Dumbledore and the other heads.

Instead of attempting to intervene again, the slytherin kept his mouth shut as the teachers went into discussion over the events of Potter also competing. Snape, in the midst of the conversation, gave a pointed look to Cassius. He knew that was the closest that he would get now to approval from his head of house. It would be once they were in the dormitories that Slytherin would celebrate properly, and what he had done would be acknowledged and congratulated by Severus.

As the discussion continued on, the pureblood kept his face quite still. It wasn't the first time that a serious discussion, and a stupid one, had occurred in front of him. The amount of politics that he'd been exposed to, he knew how to keep a poker face. He wouldn't admit it, but he was relieved when Moody had entered the room and made his own point.

"They've all got to compete. Binding magical contract, like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?" the man had practically growled from the doorway, limping into the room.

While the man might've been completely bonkers, at least he managed to wrap up a discussion that otherwise would have probably taken the professors hours to sort out. For that alone, Cassius felt some sort of admiration towards the professor. He was an interesting fellow at the very least, and one who knew how to get things done.

"The first task is designed to test your daring so we won't tell you what it is. Courage in situations unknown is an important quality," Mr Crouch explained. The slytherin raised his eyebrow slightly. For an introduction as to what they would be doing, that was a pathetic attempt. Not at all helpful, although that in itself was probably the point. "The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands."

At least that was a good start. Having a wand meant that magic would be a lot easier, rather than having to focus on performing wandless magic as well as completing whatever task they had set for the champions to complete.

"Harry, Cassius, I suggest you both go to bed. I'm certain that Gryffindor and Slytherin will wish to celebrate with you, and it would be a shame to deprive them of this excuse to create a large mess," Dumbledore suggested, giving the two Hogwarts students smiles.

Cassius nodded without glancing at Harry, already heading out of the room, knowing that Harry would follow behind. The great hall was already empty, and he slowed his pace so that the Gryffindor would end up walking beside him.

"How'd you get your name in?" Cassius asked conversationally, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer to the question.

"I didn't… I didn't put it in. I was telling the truth," the boy claimed, and the older student nodded slightly, a contemplative look on his face.

"No one will believe that Potter," he commented, daring to glance at the boy who was the same ages as his younger sister. Harry remained silent, obviously thinking on the words that the slytherin had just told him. "But I do… Good luck Potter," he finally finished, realising the look of shock on the golden boy's face as he turned and walked in the direction of the dungeons.

He had no clue what would be facing the 14 year old when he arrived in his dormitory, but Cassius definitely had plans on enjoying that party that would take place this evening in the Slytherin common room.

A grin crossed his face the moment he stepped into the silver and green common room, greeted by applause from all of his house mates.

He would definitely enjoy this evening.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **So another chapter, conveniently finished in the morning when I probably should've been studying for exams. Oh well. Thank you for all the lovely reviews, and also for those who followed this story, I'm glad people are enjoying it!**

 **Guest: I did the same thing actually, which is how this ended up happening!**

 **xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you! And that will probably make more of an appearance!**

 **thebluefeather: As you guessed, Cassandra Travers will be making more of an appearance, and yes I'll be trying to include more interactions between Octavia, Draco and Theodore, as well as more interactions between the siblings. And I agree, I was trying to keep this somewhat realistic! Hope you also liked this chapter!**


	4. Potter Stinks!

The next morning Octavia had been pulled aside by her brother and found herself dragged down to the lake before anyone else seemed to be up.

"Is there any reason why we couldn't have this conversation in the common room?" Octavia drawled, not attempting to conceal the annoyance that she felt from her brother.

"Considering we wouldn't be able to get a minute of privacy once someone woke up, yes," the seventh year retorted bluntly, giving the girl a pointed looked. "Especially because we both know that Malfoy wouldn't dream of leaving either one of us for the rest of the year."

The brunette nodded slightly, biting her lip. As she thought about it, she knew that her brother was right. Malfoy would be drawn into the idea of fame, and those associated to it.

"What's going on?" she finally asked, dropping to the ground and leaning back against the tree. Going in it already felt like one of those things that would take an unfortunate amount of time, and she wouldn't dream of being uncomfortable in that case.

"It's about Potter," he answered. His sister raised her eyebrow, questioning the idea that her brother even wanted to speak about the Gryffindor 'Golden Boy'. She had no doubt that this would be something that would only worsen the tensions between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Had the champion come from any other house, perhaps Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff would get more worked up at the fact that Potter's name had also come out of the cup. But it was a Slytherin champion.

There was no doubt that those houses would rather support Harry than support a Slytherin champion.

And there was also no doubt that this would be more fuel to the hatred between the houses.

Octavia couldn't think of the reason why her brother of all people would want to discuss Potter's involvement. Of all people, she would've actually thought that he would be one of the people who would hate him the most. Especially given how ambitious he was, the drive that he had to prove himself to people.

"I'm not sure how things'll play out," her brother mused, his brown eyes looking out at the lake as he spoke. "What I do know, is the kid didn't put his name in the cup."

"Why do you care, Cas?" the brunette asked, head tilted to the side with her eyebrows furrowed. Cassius let out a deep breath, something that mixed itself with a chuckle. The seventeen year old shrugged his shoulders, drooping his head.

"I don't know, Ava, I really don't know," he murmured quietly. It wasn't entirely true, though he wouldn't admit that to his sister. He wasn't a pureblood, and that alone should've probably already made him not care. But the boy was small, barely taller than Octavia, very thin and roughly her age. The thought of Octavia having to compete made him angry and protective, and somehow the two fourth year students had become intertwined. Something inside of him felt sorry for the kid, not enough to be protective, but enough to talk to his sister about it.

"And you want me to do something?"

"I know it's not going to be easy… but if you could… try to control Malfoy…" there was silence for a moment, suddenly laughter rang out. It didn't take long for Cassius to join in with his sister's laughter as she made a comment in response to his request. The two purebloods continued mucking around for a while, enjoying the moment and the ability to express themselves. By breakfast, it would be as though the exchange never happened.

Both of them would once again have their emotions and thoughts, generally, carefully concealed by the facades that they always portrayed.

For now, the two were happy to enjoy the moment.

* * *

Monday morning.

Octavia was grateful that their first lesson was going to be with the Ravenclaws. The two houses, usually, got along relatively well.

By that, both of them had a fairly solid academic rivalry, that barely ever ended in bitter words, exchanges or even duels.

Unfortunately the morning had started with History of Magic. There was no way in which a morning could start in a worse way than being forced to listen to Binns droning on. While Draco was already asleep, along with most of the rest of the class, Octavia was trying to take notes on the lecture. Not because she actually found it interesting, but because she was desperately trying to stay awake. Theodore was watching in amusement, knowing that it would turn into a parchment dedicated to doodles and odd notes. The two would no doubt go to the library later and find a few books on the Goblin wars in order to take some proper notes.

The elective class was next, and once again Octavia found herself dreading Care of Magical Creatures. The main reason was because it was a class shared with Gryffindors. The next reason, was because she somehow doubted that it would be possible to reach the end of a class without someone ending up in the infirmary.

And Octavia was not disappointed.

Draco was already sneering before he even got there, and she was desperately trying to plot a way to distract the blonde. Unfortunately she was coming up with a lot of blanks, and could only mentally apologise to her brother. One day was still an accomplishment in the standards of how often Malfoy had ended up picking fights.

"Got your autograph books? Better get a signature now, because I doubt he's going to be around much longer... how long d'you reckon you're going to last, Potter? Ten minutes into the first task's my bet," he snickered at his own comment, and the two oafs that were always around him did the same. She was actually grateful to see Hagrid when he arrived, so that Draco couldn't make himself look like more of an ass. Or worse, so that Potter couldn't retaliate. It seemed that if Draco could pull Potter into conflicts, he was always the one that got the worse end of the deal.

Given that it was only the second class, Octavia had a feeling that things weren't looking that great.

It was confirmed when her friend had offered her a badge as they were walking into the great hall for lunch.

"What do you think?" Draco asked, a smug look on his face as he held out a a badge that clearly stated, 'Support Cassius Warrington. The Real Hogwarts Champion'. She wasn't surprised at the turn of events, what did surprise her was that on her way to lunch she had actually seen Ravenclaws, and even a few Hufflepuffs had been wearing the badges. But they were few and far in between. She had seen perhaps 15 in total wearing the badges. Malfoy, still grinning, tapped the top of the badge and in response the message had changed to 'Potter Stinks!'

The conversation that she had with her brother the yesterday morning replayed in her head, and she prepared herself for the response that she was about to give her friend.

"Is it required for me to have a badge to support my brother?" she drawled, trying to muster the most amount of sarcasm she could as she narrowed her eyes at the blonde pureblood. The boy looked at her in surprise, his eyes widening.

"I thought you would've loved the opportunity to openly show your support," he drawled, the unsaid words stating that she would've loved the opportunity to humiliate the Gryffindor boy.

"I do believe that my relation to him is enough to show my support is it not Draco? And if that was, I think the colour of my tie immediately dissolves any questions. Though I can assure you that no matter what the task is, I will be the one that will always be hoping for his victory, and doing anything I can to ensure it," she finished with a polite smile. One that was very practiced, for all of the interactions that she had in parties. Interactions with people that she couldn't afford to anger, due to the politics that came with being pureblooded. Draco had immediately noticed it, though he had put it off as something that was merely a defensive action.

Theodore however, had watched the exchange curiously. He knew that something wasn't exactly adding up. He supposed that she wasn't actively aiming to get into a fight. She had always attempted to avoid conflict, as much as it was possible for her to do so anyway.

Whenever Draco started insulting someone, Octavia had always tended to drift towards the back of the group, a perfectly vacant look on her face. It was something that he never missed, though as she had just demonstrated she was perfectly capable of winning arguments if she tried.

She slid passed the blonde, before sitting herself next to Theodore. Draco hadn't moved to follow her, instead sitting close by her brother. He watched, an amused smirk crossing the boys face as he saw it.

"Am I correct in my assumption that he's done something to piss you off?" he asked, an amused expression on his face as his pale grey eyes met hers. "Merlin's beard he's an idiot."

At that comment she raised an eyebrow eye him, her friend giving a chuckle. "We both know what he's like Ava, though I would've assumed in order to try to stay close to your brother he would at least try to stay on your good side."

Despite the joking tone, Octavia rolled her eyes at the boys comment.

"He's been our friend longer than that, and he'll stay our friend even after my brother's fame has worn off," she answered, but she noticed Theo's thoughtful nod.

"Considering we're amongst the few equals he has."

"Isn't that also why we remain friends?" Octavia finally responded, daring to look Theodore in the eye as she asked the question. Daring to wonder what his answer would be, and whether or not he'd attempt to lie to her. After a few moments she noticed his grey eyes softened slightly, a change that not many people would've picked up on. Perhaps she had known the boy far too long, given how well she seemed to know him.

"It's why we became friends," he admittedly calmly, but the unspoken words left her to nod in understanding. He trusted her, and in turn she trusted him. And both of them were undeniably loyal to one another, even if no one else would ever know.

On the way to potions after lunch, Theodore had accepted a badge from Draco, pinning it to his own robes. He grabbed a second one as well, in case Octavia changed her mind. While Theodore knew that the pureblooded girl wouldn't simply because she had already argued against it, it seemed to please Draco that there would be one available for her.

The Slytherins had arrived at potions first, like they always did. They were on time for their own head of house, knowing he'd treat them well whether they deserved it or not. All of them didn't doubt it was due to his own experience at the school as a Slytherin, and the knowledge that there were other teachers that were very much biased against anyone in Slytherin. Gryffindor, which he treated worse than any other house for some unknown reason, whilst on time tried to avoid the dungeons as much as possible.

It was well known to be the Slytherin's domain given that their own common room was located in the dungeons.

Theodore and Octavia stood a bit further away from the other Slytherin students, something that they realised the Gryffindors had in fact noticed by the odd looks that they gave the two. The two conversed in low voices in order not to be overheard, their own eyes scanning the corridor to see what was going on. It was when Potter and Granger had walked in that Theodore watched Octavia's eyes narrow slightly, seeing the too get closer to the group of Slytherins.

"Any reason why you're concerned about Potter?" he murmured in her ear.

"None," she answered simply, though her eyes hadn't moved from the boy-who-lived.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you not to lie?" he teased, a large smirk on his face.

"I do believe that they taught me that the end justified any means taken," she countered, taken a step away from him to ensure some sense of personal space. No doubts if she stayed that close to the boy the assumption would be that the two had taken a fancy to one another, or were already together.

The boy gave her an amused look.

The howling laughter of the Slytherins caused the two to drag their eyes back to the group, watching the confrontation.

"Want one, Granger? I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see… I don't want a Mudblood sliming it up," his drawl seemed to echo around the corridor. At that moment Potter had drawn his wand, people scrambling to get out of the way of the inevitable duel. Octavia tensed slightly, while the boy beside her reached across to get ready to draw his wand in case any hexes ended up heading towards them.

Draco continued to play Potter, goading him until both boys threw hexes at one another simultaneously.

Octavia couldn't help but raise her eyebrow at Draco's choice in spell, Harry's on the other hand, that ought to have hurt. She definitely didn't want to trade places with Goyle.

Snape billowed into the room at that moment, and everyone knew how it was going to end from that moment.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Exams are over, temporarily, so another chapter is here! I hope that you enjoyed it, and that you will continue to enjoy this. This focussed a bit more on Octavia, the next one will focus more on her brother once again.**

 **xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thanks for your lovely review, hope that this was also another one that you also enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Lcuenca95: Here you go! Not as quick as I hoped but finally got there!**


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